Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news36~5.htm/text0002.txt

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>South China Morning Post, Internet Edition, 14 Apr 97
Bird campaigners get nest egg from the enemy
FIONA HOLLAND

Conservationists are being sponsored by a developer lined up against them in
the battle for the Mai Po marshes.

 World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong holds its 12th Big Bird Race on April
11 and 12 in a bid to raise $2.5 million.

  Companies donate $50,000 to sponsor a team in the bird-spotting race, and
among them is Li Ka-shing's company Cheung Kong (Holdings) - which is
planning a residential development in buffer zones bordering Mai Po.

  The marshes have been designated a "Ramsar" site - a wetland of
international importance - which attracts thousands of migratory birds every
year.

  But environmentalists say the wetland is under increasing pressure from
developers after a landmark ruling by the Privy Council in London last December.

  That gave the go-ahead for Henderson Land's controversial Nam Sang Wai
development and now other developers are appealing against rejections by the
Town Planning Board.

  Chief among challengers are Cheung Kong and New World Development who will
contest decisions against their schemes at Fung Lok Wai and Lin Bearn Tsuen
in the Town Planning Appeal Board this year.

  The manager of the Mai Po marshes, Dr Lew Young, who is heading the race
team sponsored by Cheung Kong, denied the developer's financial support
would alter WWF's position.

  "In the past we have been against it. We are not going to turn up at the
appeal case and say 'yeah, great'.

  "In an ideal situation we would like no further loss of wetlands at Mai Po."

  But he said there was room for co-operation, in the event developers won
their cases, to ensure the least possible damage was done.

  "It does not mean that we are going to change sides," he said.

  Cheung Kong executive director and general manager, Grace Woo, said the
Fung Lok Wai proposal should not preclude co-operation with green groups.

  She argued approval would create a "win-win situation" for the Government,
developer and green groups.



Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 13:03:21 +0800 (SST)
>From: vadivu <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: (JP) Care for a bite of marbled pork?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>The Straits Times, 4 Apr 97
Care for a bite of marbled pork?
By Kwan Weng Kin Japan Correspondent

TOKYO -- People who crave the exquisite taste of Japanese
     shimofuri (marbled) beef such as Kobe and Matsuzaka but find it
     too hard on their wallets may soon have a cheaper but possibly
     just as delicious alternative -- shimofuri pork.

      A brand-new breed of hogs that yields marbled pork has been
     developed at a livestock experimental station run by the Tokyo
     metropolitan authorities.

       The result of eight years of research and development, the
     marbled pork is expected to be available in supermarkets and
     specialty meat stores in the Japanese capital by summer next
     year. Officials at the experimental station said that while normal
     meat has only 2-per-cent fat, the marbled pork has between 4 and
     5-per-cent fat, the same as for Kobe beef.

       Just as with marbled beef, the fat in marbled pork is distributed
     evenly throughout the meat and is clearly visible to the naked
     eye.

      The new pork has been described as a "new taste sensation",
     "excellent" in shabu shabu, or Japanese-style hot pot.

       Local governments throughout Japan have all along been
     promoting research to improve the quality of pork but the Tokyo
     experimental station is the first to come out with a completely
     new line of pigs.

        The aim of their research was to give Tokyo pig farmers an edge
     over their rivals elsewhere in the country. While there were some
     4,500 pig farmers in the Tokyo metropolitan district 30 years ago,
     the number has dwindled to only about 60 and their combined
     annual production totals about 16,000 pigs.

      Eighteen of these Tokyo pig farmers are due to raise the new
     breed -- which has yet to be given a name. Currently, the most
     expensive variety of pork in Japan is the kurobuta (black pig)
     from Kagoshima prefecture in southern Japan.

       "We hope our new pork will give Kagoshima's kurobuta a good
     fight. But it will definitely not be as expensive as marbled beef,"
     said Mr Suehiko Saito, a senior official at the Tokyo experimental
     station.

       Surprisingly, Tokyo's marbled pork has its roots in Beijing,
     China.

       It started eight years ago when a staff of the Tokyo livestock
     station, while visiting the Chinese capital, dined on pork from
     local Beijing black pigs and loved it.

        The Japanese researchers, making use of Tokyo's sister-city ties
     with Beijing, managed to procure two boars and five sows. These
     were then mated with two other varieties -- Berkshires for the
     quality of their meat and Durocs for their ability to fatten easily.

      So as not to stress the animals, the researchers avoided
     overcrowding the pigs. But they said they had not gone as far as
     producers of marbled beef, who massage their animals and let
     them listen to piped-in music.



Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 13:03:29 +0800 (SST)
>From: vadivu <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: (TH) Shoppers want strict hygiene standards
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>Bangkok Post Apr 4, 1997 - Shoppers want strict hygiene standards
Shops selling tainted food should be named

Anchalee Kongrut

Most supermarket users are concerned with hygiene and want strict health
standards on food.

Many shoppers interviewed in a random survey said they knew little of the
presence of E. coli bacteria in ready-to-cook packaged food sold in
supermarkets.

While some said they knew but still bought packaged food, most called for
hygiene standards to be strictly controlled by the authorities.

Primprow Chudabala, an office worker, said she usually bought ready-to-eat
packaged food for her family because of her tight schedule.

She admitted she was unaware of the E. coli scare but if it was correct, the
authorities should name shops where the bacteria was found.

"The authorities should inform people instead of protecting supermarkets,"
she said.

Mrs Primprow, 40, said she was fastidious about food and usually threw it
away before the expiry date.

"But you can't expect every buyer to be as fastidious. I suggest the
authorities suspend operations of food suppliers who do not follow hygiene
standards."

Mrs Primprow also urged authorities to remove from the shelves any food that
is below standard.

Rosawan Peunsujarit, an estate agent, said inspectors should carry out
frequent spot checks on supermarkets and food suppliers.

But any such effort would fail if the authorities considered food hygiene a
matter between themselves and business operators and kept consumers in the
dark, said Miss Rosawan, 26.

A co-founder of Le Dalat, a Vietnamese restaurant, who did not want to be
identified, said she knew little about E. coli but was more concerned about
formalin used on fresh fish.

"Buying fresh food has become a threatening thing for me," she said. "I am
very careful in choosing fish and vegetables. Most fresh fish and vegetables
sold in markets is tainted with harmful preservatives. I wish the
authorities would look into fresh food preserving."

A manager of one of the oldest supermarket chains in Bangkok, who requested
anonymity, said the key solution was to enforce hygiene standards in food
supply businesses and educate people about preparing food.

His supermarket maintains high standards of hygiene and has a lab to check
quality, he said, but declined to detail his control procedure.

"Even if we claim our food hygiene to be better than others, there will
always be food experts who will criticise our standard. I believe our loyal
patrons know best," he said.

An employee in the food section of a well-known supermarket on Ratchadapisek
Road said the company gets its supply for ready-to-cook packaged food from
fresh markets, such as Pak Klong Talad.

He declined to discuss the procedure in preparing the packages.

Under a Food and Drugs Administration order issued in January, supermarkets
were told to label food packages with the ingredients, expiry date and the
name of the supplier.

Pakdi Photisiri, the administration secretary-general, said supermarkets had
been given permission to use existing labels for one more year before
switching to labels with an approval symbol.

New supermarkets or those which do not label food packages must use the
administration label immediately.

Article copyright Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd 1997
Reprinted for non-commercial use only.
Website: http://www.bangkokpost.net




Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 13:03:34 +0800 (SST)
>From: vadivu <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (TH) Peacock spared from pot after it kills its owner
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>Bangkok Post Apr 4, 1997 - Peacock spared from pot after it kills its owner

Vichai Thongto was killed by his own pet - a peacock.

"I have been working for 10 years and I never before heard of a peacock
killing a person," a nurse said yesterday at a hospital in Ratchaburi where
Mr Vichai died.

Mr Vichai, 30, was feeding the family's four caged peacocks on Sunday when
the sole male bird, named Yoong Thong - Golden Peacock - hurled itself at
him, clawing at his head.

"One of the birds was hatching her eggs, that's why this male peacock was
very fierce," Mr Vichai's sister said. "He is usually fierce, but not this
fierce."

Mr Vichai at first told no one of the attack, said the sister. But he
started suffering headaches and went into shock, and was in a coma by the
time he was taken to hospital later that day.

A nurse in Ratchaburi Hospital's neurological department confirmed that when
Mr Vichai's relatives brought him in, they explained he had been attacked by
a peacock.

Doctors found a 0.5-centimetre puncture above his left ear, and a CAT scan
showed a blood clot on his brain, the nurse said.

Mr Vichai was operated on the same night, but died on Monday, she said.

His father, Mr Somchai, said the life of the killer bird would be spared.

He said he still loved Yoong Thong and the three other peacocks, but would
donate them to a local zoo because of pressure from his relatives.

Mr Somchai, 55, said that if they had just recently acquired the bird, he
"would have it cooked to make a curry out of it".

But as they had raised it for eight years, since it was a baby, he was not
inclined to seek revenge. - AP

Article copyright Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd 1997
Reprinted for non-commercial use only.
Website: http://www.bangkokpost.net


Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 13:03:44 +0800 (SST)
>From: vadivu <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: (CN) Outbreak sparks import ban
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>South China Morning Post, Internet Edition, 3 Apr 97

     Outbreak sparks import ban
     AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

     Beijing has banned the import of pigs, cattle and sheep from Taiwan after
an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease that has cost the island billions of
dollars in lost revenue.

 The import ban was issued on Tuesday by the Ministry of Agriculture, the
China Daily  said.

 The move prohibits the direct or indirect import of pigs, oxen and sheep,
as well as their by-products.

 It followed Taiwan's decision to reject offers from the mainland to help
fight the outbreak.

 The mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait has sent
an official letter expressing sympathy and concern for pig producers in Taiwan.

 The ministry reiterated its willingness to supply vaccines to Taiwan.





Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 13:10:34 +0800 (SST)
>From: vadivu <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Wrong date on HK post
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Sorry, the date on this post should have been 4 Apr 97.

-Vadivu


>South China Morning Post, Internet Edition, 14 Apr 97
>Bird campaigners get nest egg from the enemy
>FIONA HOLLAND


Date: Thu, 03 Apr 1997 21:18:52 -0800
>From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Fishermen fined $4 million
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Cape Code fishermen banned forever from federal waters, fined $4 million

The Associated Press

BOSTON (Apr 3, 1997 9:55 p.m. EST) -- In the largest fisheries fraud
case in U.S. history, two Cape Cod brothers were fined $4.3 million and
forever banned from federal waters for illegally catching depleted
scallops and groundfish and then lying about it.

"They violated practically every significant regulation we had on the
books," Mitch MacDonald, an enforcement attorney with the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Thursday.

"At one of the most critical times in our fishery's history, they tried
to evade everything we were trying to do to save the fishery."

James and Peter Spalt of Barnstable operated at least seven corporations
that pursued, bought and sold Atlantic sea scallops and groundfish. The
brothers were charged with more than 300 violations of federal fisheries
laws between March 1994 and February 1995.

Those violations included catching more fish than allowed, spending more
days at sea than allowed, using too many crew members on vessels, buying
or selling illegal fish, and lying to federal authorities about all of
the above.

In addition to fining the brothers, U.S. Administrative Law Judge Peter
Fitzpatrick revoked their five vessel permits and one fish dealer
permit. Also, their applications for other permits were denied.

Fitzpatrick's decision on Wednesday fined the Atlantic Spray Corp. $1.02
million; Corsair Corp. $779,000; Sakonnet Corp. $766,000; Hudson Corp.
$719,000; Cape Spray Fisheries Inc. $646,000; and South Channel Corp.
$393,000. All are owned by Peter and James Spalt.

The Spalts' businesses earned between $6 million and $10 million a year.

"There was nothing that happened that they didn't know about," MacDonald
said.

The Spalts were accused of illegally catching at least 400,000 pounds of
fish worth at least $2 million. They did this by illegally lining
dredges with nets to catch fish and by illegally hiding scallops
in monkfish boxes.

The violations allegedly occurred on more than 86 percent of the 125
trips the Spalts' vessels took during the period, authorities said. The
fish were sold to restaurants, fish markets and other distributors.

Twelve captains who worked for the brothers' fleet also were charged in
the investigation. They have either paid fines or been grounded for
months or years, MacDonald said.

It was the largest fisheries fraud case in U.S. history, according to
the Commerce Department.

The Spalts will appeal Fitzpatrick's decision to federal court in
Boston, their attorney, Leonard Rose, said Thursday.

"We think that so many errors have been committed and so many
constitutional violations have been committed," Rose said without
elaborating.

MacDonald said the investigation is continuing, and other family
members, employees and business partners may be charged.
Date: Thu, 03 Apr 1997 21:23:16 -0800
>From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Doctors warned of homicide charge
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Clinic withdraws controversial transplant policy on brain-dead donors

Copyright ⌐ 1997 The Associated Press

CLEVELAND (Apr 3, 1997 8:31 p.m. EST) -- Faced with a prosecutor's
warning that the idea amounts to homicide, a renowned heart clinic
decided Thursday not to allow doctors to take organs from brain-damaged
patients moments after they died, CBS News reported.

CBS said the Cleveland Clinic had adopted a protocol to allow doctors,
with family approval, to withdraw life support from brain-damaged but
not yet brain-dead patients if no pulse could be felt in the neck for
two minutes.

Because organs are in high demand for transplants and deteriorate
without oxygen, there is a premium on declaring death quickly, CBS
noted.

The clinic withdrew the protocol Thursday without ever using it, but
maintained in a letter to CBS that it "met the highest legal and ethical
standards," the network said.

Cuyahoga County Assistant Prosecutor Carmen Marino told CBS' Mike
Wallace that after his office learned of the protocol, he warned clinic
lawyers that the procedure could be considered homicide.

"Anyone who participates and promotes this type of protocol and executes
it would be liable for violating Ohio's, not only death statute, but
homicide statutes," Marino told CBS.

The Cleveland Clinic told The Associated Press it had no immediate
comment Thursday night.

Marino also could not be reached for comment Thursday night. The
Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office was closed for the night. Calls to
Marino's home by the AP were met with a busy signal.
Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 01:18:36 -0500 (EST)
>From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Mink Farmers Factual Error, accurate reporting???
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

JP's right, of course.  Mink don't hibernate.  The farmers quoted don't live
in northern Canada, either.  They live in the southernmost tip of the
country, just north of the line of latitude that defines northern California.
 Assuming they know where they live they possibly do know that mink don't
hibernate, but that some of mink's prey does, in the northern part of the
species' range...in other words, this seems to smack of  another example of
how badly reporters screw up their reports.  (If you've ever dicussed
ANYTHING with print media and seen the results in the next day's paper,
you'll know what I mean).  But even if a single quoted mink farmer reallly
was that stupid (and this whole episode seems to have been marked by
monumental stupidity) it does not negate EVERYTHING else ALL or ANY of them
are quoted as saying.  It's not that I'm giving the mink farmers the benefit
of the doubt out of any resect for thier horrid profession, it's just that I
rather think they'd have noticed that mink don't hibernate...the entire
breeding cycle being dependent upon and wrapped up in the fact that they
don't.

Cheers,

Barry.

In a message dated 97-04-01 10:20:31 EST, [e-mail] writes:

 << Subj:Mink Farmers Factual Error
  Date:97-04-01 10:20:31 EST
  From:[e-mail]
  Sender:[e-mail]
  Reply-to:[e-mail]
  To:[e-mail]

 Just to clarify something, the mink farmer quoted in the newspaper article
 Alan posted exemplified how little fur farmers actually know about mink.
  Mink DO NOT hibernate as this individual claimed.  Therefore, I think we
can
 take much of there other claims with a grain of salt as well, considering
how
 little these people actually know.

 JP Goodwin
 Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade


Date: Sat, 05 Apr 1997 02:06:54 -0500
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Navy Dedicates Island As Refuge
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
---------------------------------
 04/03/1997 18:32 EST

 Navy Dedicates Island As Refuge

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Navy and the Fish and Wildlife Service are
dedicating the
 island of Midway as a national wildlife refuge.

 Situated about 1,250 miles northwest of Honolulu, the island is best known
as the
 site of the Battle of Midway during World War II.

 Now, millions of migratory birds come to the atoll to nest.

 Under Navy jurisdiction since 1903, the island now will be under the Fish and
 Wildlife Service and will be open to the public for the first time in 50
years, the
 Pentagon said Thursday.
Date: Fri, 04 Apr 1997 18:50:49 -0400
>From: [e-mail] (Wgtn Animal Action)
To: [e-mail]
Cc: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: (NZ) US Flag burning in support of Tony Wong
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>




United States flag burned outside Embassy by Animal Liberation group

 Friday 4th April 1997

A local Animal Liberation group torched a United States Flag at the
American Embassy at 5pm today in support of a teenage activist
currently on hunger strike in an American jail..  Wellington Animal
Action says it burnt the flag as a protest against the inhumane and
brutal treatment of a sixteen year old Tony Wong of Indiana, USA

Wong began his 40th day of a hunger strike today, the longest hunger strike in recent
memory in U.S. social justice causes. He also began his fifth day of being force-fed by
personnel at the juvenile prison were he is being held. Wong says the feeding is causing
more pain, and more blood, to pour out of his nose, and says the prison refuses to stop the
feeding or treat him.

Wong will not eat until the Clinton Administration agrees to support federal legislation
banning the barbaric leghold trap, and end opposition to the European Union wild fur ban,
which would stop the importation to EU countries of fur from nations not yet banning the
trap. The U.S. has not banned the trap and is threatening to sue the EU. The third demand
asks New York to kill a measure that would legalize a "snare trap" for beavers.

Mark Eden from Wellington Animal Action says the burning of the flag
by the activists is only part of the growing international support
for Wong, jailed Feb. 24 for at least 2 months at the Plainfield
Indiana Boys' School for protesting against animal cruelty at a fur
store last November 29th.

Mr Eden says "We are demanding Wong's immediate release, and an end to the unethical
and unnecessary force-feeding by the prison authorities".

For more info contact - Mark Eden
Ph (64)-4-3856728


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wellington Animal Action
PO Box 6387, Te Aro
Wellington
Aotearoa/New Zealand
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++






On March 11th a fur farm breeders co-op building in Utah was totally destroyed in an
arson attack claimed by animal liberationists acting in support of Tony Wong. Over a
million dollars of damage was caused in the attack. The Animal Liberation Front has
firebombed a fur store in New York and an animal research laboratory in California over
the last few weeks in solidarity with Tony Wong and other animal rights prisoners hunger
striking in the United States. Animal rights activists from all over North America will
protest in Indiana this weekend in an effort to force the authorities to free Tony Wong.

International contacts
Activist Civil Liberties Committee USA [phone]
Campaign Against the Fur Trade USA (214) 5031419




Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 15:41:04 +0800 (SST)
>From: vadivu <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: (HK)  The real costs of meat
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


 >Hong Kong Standard, 3 APR 97
Letters to the Editor
Time to delete meat

I REFER to the article ``New abattoir to be environment friendly''
("Hong Kong Standard", 26 March).

In the first place an abattoir cannot possible be environmentally
friendly _ whatever the cost of mitigation measures.

And it is certainly not going to be animal-friendly nor, at $1.9
billion, taxpayer friendly. And what about the cost and health hazards
of disposing of the nine tonnes of animal carcasses that are generated
each day, according to current Hong Kong Government figures?

And what about the disease hazards created by putting so many animals
and carcasses in one place?

"E-coli" and foot and mouth disease are topical at the moment but
they are only two of a whole variety of infections that can easily
break out in centralised facilities and spread like wildfire.

And what about the cost of treating the afflictions that result from a
meat-based diet: for example, heart disease, strokes and bowel cancer?

The least we can do is to cut down on eating meat for the sake of our
health, the animals and the environment.

Every child has the right to a healthy diet _ that means no meat.

Dr John Wedderburn, Hong Kong (via e-mail)





Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 15:50:11 +0800 (SST)
>From: vadivu <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (SG) S'pore film raises talk
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>The Straits Times, 2 April 97
S'pore film raises talk

One of the home-made features to debut at the 10th Singapore International
film festival this week is God or Dog, directed by Singaporean Hugo Ng.

The movie is about a jobless man named Arthur Sin who assumes the
personality of a spiritual medium. It is based on the real-life murders of
two young children by Adrian Lim in 1981.

The film is already being talked about by festival-goers because of its
violence and graphic sex scenes.

There is one scene where Sin (played by Ng) killes a poodle brutally by
twisting its neck.

A press release with film anecdotes states that the dog was put to sleep
temporarily and "subjected to our manipulation".

The dog did wake up in the end, but it died a few months ago, the release said.

And it will not be the only cast member missing the film's premiere this
Sunday. According to Shin Min Daily News, actress Tay Teow Li, 25, who plays
Sin's second wife, died in her sleep three weeks after shooting wrapped up.
The cause of death is not known.

Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 17:53:14 +0800
>From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [Aust] 3rd death linked to Salmonella poisoning
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The Melbourne Age reports (29.3.1997) in an article titled
"Third death heightens food fears" that the Victorian state coroner was
investigating Victoria's third salmonella-linked death this year as health
officials battle to retain public confidence in food hygiene standards.

A 27 year old man who died at his Springvale home on 9 March was found to
have the rare salmonella typhimurium 43 in his body. The cause of his death
is not known.

Six other people have fallen ill with the rare strain, including a woman who
was admitted to hospital, in the state's third salmonella outbreak this year.

Deadly Trail
------------

Friday 21st March

Two people die and 30 are ill from Salmonella muenchen poisoning after eating
ham and corned beef products from the Largo factory in Reservoir.

Tuesday 25th March

Pork, ham and pate rolls from the World Hot bread bakery in Springvale
cause an unprecedented outbreak of salmonella. By the weekend, 554 people
with salmonella typhimurium are linked to the outbreak.

Friday 28th March

One young man dies and it is announced he has extremely rare Salmonella
typhimurium 43, which has made 6 others ill. Health authorities close the Hop Ky
Restaurant in Springvale.

*Postscript :In the last two days it has been stated in the media that a
popular liver paste and another product are now under recall from Victoria,
Australia
(a brand also sold in Western Australia imported from Victoria). WA health
officials have found contamination of some type in the eastern state
smallgoods. Further details should be available soon. An appeal for
increased food monitoring standards has also been heard through the media
and sales of smallgoods in Victoria's markets have declined as the public
become wary of eating possibly contaminated processed meats.

Kind Regards,

Marguerite Wegner
Western Australia
[e-mail]
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kia hora te marino, kia whakapapa pounamu te moana, kia tere ai te karohirohi
i mua tonu i o koutou huarahi.
                              -Maori Prayer

(May the calm be widespread, may the sea be as the smooth surface of the
greenstone and may the rays of sunshine forever dance along your pathway)

Date: Sat, 05 Apr 1997 08:03:24 -0500
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Consumer groups demand single food-safety agency
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN web page:
---------------------------------
                     Consumer groups demand single food-safety agency

                     April 3, 1997
                     Web posted at: 5:40 p.m. EST

                     In this story:

                        * Several agencies responsible
                        * FDA: Current system works
                        * Related stories and sites

                     WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The recent hepatitis scare in
                     frozen strawberries has prompted renewed calls
                     from consumer groups for the creation of a single
                     federal food-safety agency.

                     Consumer advocates wrote President Clinton
                     Wednesday, saying the latest outbreak follows a
                     year of increased food scares and signifies the
                     need for a single agency to monitor food safety.

                     "Last year, there was a bumper crop of food-borne
                     illnesses from FDA-regulated foods," said Caroline
                     Smith DeWaal of the Center for Science in the
                     Public Interest, one of the groups demanding
                     action.

                     Among recent food scares in the U.S., according to
                     DeWaal:

                        * More than 1,000 people fell ill from eating
                          parasite- tainted Guatemalan raspberries.
                        * At least 100 people received E.coli poisoning
                          from lettuce.
                        * One child died and dozens of others fell ill
                          from drinking E.coli-tainted apple juice.
                        * Hundreds of people became sick after eating
                          bad oysters.

                     Although the U.S. food supply is considered the
                     safest in the world, an estimated 9,000 Americans
                     die every year from food poisoning. Between 9
                     million and 33 million become sick every year from
                     some form of food poisoning, records show.

                     Several agencies responsible

                     The current food-safety system spreads
                     responsibility among numerous agencies, including
                     the United States Department of Agriculture, the
                     Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental
                     Protection Agency. For example, the USDA regulates
                     meat; the FDA regulates most other food.

                      DeWaal and others contend the system
                                is too inefficient, and that years of
                     underfunding have left the FDA with a food safety
                     program that is little more than a recall agency
                     for contaminated foods.

                     In January, Clinton asked Congress for a $43
                     million food budget increase to help the agencies
                     better monitor potential food hazards, among other
                     things.

                     But the consumer groups say piecemeal reforms
                     aren't enough.

                     Nancy Donley of Safe Tables Our Priority, whose
                     6-year-old son died after eating an
                     E.coli-contaminated hamburger, said she "can't
                     help but wonder if my only child would be alive"
                     if a single agency had existed for food
                     regulation.

                     FDA: Current system works

                     Vicki Peal, whose father died after eating a bad
                     oyster, said she fears "the consequences of having
                     (the FDA) oversee new food-safety threats."

                     The FDA, meanwhile, insists that the       [meat]
                     various federal food agencies combined
                     are up to the job.

                     "It's best to see this as sort of an integrated
                     package of many people from many perspectives with
                     different skills trying to assure the public
                     health," said Dr. Michael Friedman, acting
                     commissioner of the FDA.

                     Correspondent Eugenia Halsey contributed to this
                     report.
Date: Sat, 05 Apr 1997 08:46:56 -0500
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (VN) Vietnamese Spare Cats, Save Crops
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
----------------------------
 04/04/1997 04:32 EST

 Vietnamese Spare Cats, Save Crops

 HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- Cats in northern Vietnam are off the menu and on
the prowl.

 In Thai Binh province, where cats are a delicacy, authorities have banned
felines
 from restaurant menus to preserve them for rat-hunting duty, official
media reported
 today.

 Millions of ravenous rats in Thai Binh have been devouring rice crops by
the acre.
 And farmers are turning to their dwindling cat population for help.

 ``So many cats have been sold for food, few are left in the villages,'' the
 state-controlled New Hanoi newspaper quoted local officials as saying.

 The newspaper said many cats are smuggled from Thai Binh to China where
 restaurant-owners offer higher prices for the meat.

 The Red River delta province of Thai Binh, about 70 miles southeast of
Hanoi, is the
 biggest rice-producing area in northern Vietnam.
Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 10:50:11 -0500 (EST)
>From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Oklahoma Horse Cruelty Case
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>


Numerous complaints of starving horses at riding stable results in
seizure of eight emaciated horses.

    Second Chance Animal Sanctuary of Norman, Oklahoma, in
conjunction with the Cleveland County Sheriff's Department, the
District Attorney's Office, and the City of Norman Animal Control
Department seized eight horses from the Thunderbird Riding Stables
for animal cruelty.  According to Second Chance cruelty investigator
Jamie McAloon, "The horses were nothing but skin and bone, no fat
tissue left, and little or no muscle left. You could count every rib,
their backbones protruded, and each horse had rain rot and sores from
ill-fitting harness.  They literally couldn't afford to lose another
ounce.  Despite their poor condition, the horses were still being
worked as riding horses."

   Owners Cindy and Bobby Steveson of Thunderbird Riding Stables
blame the horses' poor condition on age and a bad winter.  Second
Chance has had the horses' ages estimated by two separate
veterinarians who determined this was not the case.  The horses were
as young as 8 years old and up.  Central Oklahoma has had no winter
to speak of -- we've just had one of the mildest winters on record.
The last excuse was that the horses had poor or few teeth and
couldn't or wouldn't eat.  Veterinarians and horse experts determined
that the horses all had their teeth and were fully capable of eating.
 "The only thing wrong with these horses is they need food."

   In addition to the eight horses that were seized, investigators
discovered seven more horses on the property in as poor a condition
and also being ridden.  The State Department of Tourism owns the
State Park in which the stable operates, and lease the property to
the stable.  Although the Dept. has received several complaints and
have seen the horses it is not willing to take a stand to help the
horses.  In fact the Department's statement to the media is that its
veterinarian gave the horses a "clean bill of health."

   Please write to the Director and ask that the Department of
Tourism show some compassion for these animals and insist that the
stable owners provide adequate food and veterinary care to these
horses, and in addition that any horses in poor health not be ridden.

   Letters of protest to:  John Ressmeyer, Director
                                       Oklahoma Department of Tourism
                                       P.O. Box 52002
                                       Capitol Post Office
                                       Oklahoma City, OK 73152-2002
                                       FAX:  [phone]

   Letters commending the action taken for the horses' welfare to:

    District Attorney's Office      Cleveland County Sheriff's Office
    Cleveland County                   203 S. Jones
    201 S. Jones                            Norman, OK  73069
    Norman, OK  73069               FAX:  [phone]
    FAX:  [phone]

    Chief Phil Cotton                    Second Chance Animal Sanct.
    201-B W. Gray                       P.O. Box 1266
    Norman, OK  73069               Norman, OK  73070
    FAX: [phone]                      Email:  [e-mail]

Transcribed by Mary Morrison, Norman, OK.

                                                       For the Animals,
                                                          Jana, OKC


Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 08:20:28 -0800 (PST)
>From: Mike Markarian <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: waterfowl hunting
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The following is from a hunting magazine. I would encourage everyone to
write a brief comment opposing an increase in season lengths and bag limits.
-- Mike

>Duck Hunters:
>Sound Off!
>Here's your chance, duck and goose hunters of the West: The U.S. Fish and
>Wildlife Service will be taking public comments until June 27 on whether to
>modify the way it sets waterfowl hunting regulations.
>
>Potential changes include increases in season lengths and bag limits and
>hunter opportunity. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know which
>alternative anti-hunting forces are recommending, and you can bet this small,
>but vocal crowd will weigh in with its opinions.
>
>The Adaptive Harvest Management Working Group has recommended an adoption of
>moderate to liberal options as opposed to restrictive alternatives, and would
>provide additional hunting opportunity that would maintain biological
>soundness and reflect the desires and needs of state wildlife agencies.
>
>Each year the USFWS sets overall parameters for hunting seasons and bag
>limits in each of the Pacific, Mississippi, Mountain and Eastern fly zones
>used by migratory waterfowl. State agencies can then adopt season dates and
>bag limits that do not exceed the federal agency's guidelines.
>
>The proposal for regulatory alternatives was scheduled to be included in the
>Federal Register during mid-May, and the public comment period will end June
>27. Comments can be sent to: Chief, Office of Migratory Bird Management, U.S.
>Department of Wildlife Service, ms 634-ARLSQ, 1849 C. Street N.W.,
>Washington, D.C. 20240.

Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 08:37:06 -0800 (PST)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Superior camel search starts in Britain
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


The Electronic Telegraph is the on-line version of the British-based Daily
Telegraph newspaper.

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Friday, April 4th, 1997

Search for a superior camel starts in Britain

ONE of the world's leading racehorse owners has turned to experts in
Newmarket to help produce better, faster camels for his home country.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai, is keen to
encourage camel racing, a traditional sport in the Gulf region. The Sheikh,
who owns major horse studs in Suffolk, has asked for help from the
Newmarket-based Equine Fertility Unit.

Experts, led by Dubai-based Dr Lulu Skidmore, are adapting modern breeding
techniques - such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer - for the
camels. Dr Skidmore spent five years in Dubai at Sheikh Mohammed's Camel
Reproduction Centre learning about the
animals' basic reproductive physiology.

Using ultra-sound scanning, she can now pinpoint exactly when a female camel
is ovulating and hence when it should be mated. Embryos can then be
recovered from top camels and transferred to surrogates to help maximise the
number of animals which the best camels can produce.

The use of camels in the Gulf has been hit hard by the arrival of four-wheel
drive vehicles. The Sheikh and others are now keen to champion their
sporting prowess.

Prof Twink Allen, of the Newmarket Equine Centre, said: "Camels are the
national animal in the Gulf and their racing is extremely important.
Naturally, there is a desire to get more offspring from the most competitive
animals, that is to exploit the superior genes of the best
stock."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 08:37:51 -0800 (PST)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [EU] GMO LABELLING LEAVES CONSUMERS IN THE DARK: GREENPEACE
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From the Greenpeace Press Office

GMO LABELLING LEAVES CONSUMERS IN THE DARK: GREENPEACE

BRUSSELS, April 2 1997 - Labelling regulations announced by the
European Commission today will continue to leave consumers in
the dark about whether food products contain genetically altered
organisms by not requiring segregation from natural grains.

Greenpeace spokesperson Isabelle Mister said the Commission had
failed to require any labelling at all for the controversial
genetically modified soya bean and maize. Soya beans are used in
60 per cent of processed food products in supermarkets including
pasta, chocolate and ice-cream.

The commission also failed to require the segregation of
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) such as soya beans and
corn from natural grains. "Therefore these labelling regulations
will only tell consumers a product may contain genetically
altered organisms," she said.

"The Commission through these regulations is effectively denying
consumers the choice they are demanding : to avoid genetically
altered food products," Meister said.

The European Commission announced the adoption of a proposal for
labelling of food products which "may contain or may consist of
genetically modified organisms" (GMO's).

Genetically altered soya beans formed less than two per cent of
the 1996 soya bean harvest in the United States, which is the
largest exporter into Europe, but are not segregated from the
natural soya beans. The Commission proposal does not requrie
segegration of US imports of soya beans nor does it require
labelling of food products made from GMO soya beans.

"Until the Commission requires the segregation of natural grains
and organic material from the genetically altered material
consumers will not have choice about what they eat," Meister
said.

The Commission in its announcement acknowledged that the public
demand the full application of the precautionary principle to
genetically modified products yet the commission has failed to
implement this approach by approving GMO soya beans and maize
and oil seed rape.

CONTACTS:  ISABELLE MEISTER mobile [phone] or 32-2-2801400

Date: Sat, 05 Apr 1997 11:44:05 -0500
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Subscription Options (Admin Note)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

routine posting........

Here are some items of general information (found in the "welcome letter"
sent when people subscribe--but often lose!)...included:  how to post and
how to change your subscription status (useful if you are going on
vacation--either by "unsubscribe" or "postpone").
---------------------------------------------------------------

To post messages to the list, send mail to [e-mail]
POSTING

To post a *news-related item* (no discussions), send your message to:

     [e-mail]

Appropriate postings to AR-News include: posting a news item, requesting
information on some event, or responding to a request for information.
Discussions on AR-News will NOT be allowed and we ask that any
commentary either be taken to AR-Views or to private E-mail.
------------------------------------------

***General Subscription Information***
ALL THE FOLLOWING SHOULD NOT be sent to ar-news !!!
(send them to [e-mail])
For all commands, use a blank Subject line.
---------------------------------------------------

To request a digest version, send mail to [e-mail]
with the following single line:

     set ar-news mail digest

To switch back to immediate mail, and to get copies of *your* postings
also, send the following command:

     set ar-news mail ack

or the following to not get your own postings:

     set ar-news mail noack

To see how you are set up ***(and to see if you are still subscribed!)***, use

     set ar-news

To temporarily stop mailings, use:

     set ar-news mail postpone

To re-enable it, use ack, noack, or digest as above.

To unsubscribe, use:

     unsubscribe ar-news

or:

     signoff ar-news

If you have to subscribe again, use:

     subscribe ar-news first_name last_name   (use false name if you want!)

If you have problems, please contact:

     Allen Schubert
     [e-mail]


allen
********
"We are either part of the problem or part of the solution. Walk your talk
and no one will be in doubt of where you stand."
  -- Howard F. Lyman
Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 10:06:02 -0700
>From: [e-mail] (Peter  M. Ligotti)
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: Food Slander Laws in the USA
Message-ID: <v01540b02af6ae52b4e58@[206.250.112.5]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

There are 13 states in the USA which currently have passed anti-free speech,
anti-activist food slander laws:

Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan
(passed just last week), Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas.
Here is a article from the Fall 1995 issue of Earth Island Journal on the
Food Slander laws.

"Food Slander" Is Now a Crime

by Gar Smith

On August 17, a group of activists dumped a mixture of Diet Coke,
NutraSweet (aspartame) and rBGH-enhanced milk (produced from cows
injected with genetically engineered hormones) onto the pavement at
Atlanta's Cheshire Bridge Shopping Center.

The demonstration, sponsored by the Pure Foods Campaign (PFC), took its
inspiration from the Boston Tea Party. But while dumping tea was
considered a patriotic act in Boston Harbor, dumping soda, sweetener and
milk is considered a crime in Georgia.

"Food slander" laws, in force in Georgia and at least ten other states,
make it a civil crime to denigrate or criticize food products without a
"scientific basis," explained PFC coordinator Ronnie Cummings. "Industry
lobbyists admit that these laws are probably unconstitutional... their
real purpose is to intimidate activists and concerned consumers."

Emory Law School professor David Bederman joined the PFC protest and
explained to reporters how "food disparagement" laws were ultimately
intended to scare not only citizens, but the media as well.

In Georgia, South Dakota, Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Texas, Arizona,
Oklahoma, Mississippi, Colorado and Louisiana it is now against the law
to publicly criticize corporate food products under so-called "food
disparagement" laws promoted by agriculture, chemical and biotechnology
industry lobbyists. Similar laws are under consideration in Ohio and
Illinois. "These laws are intended to curtail the right to free speech,
to make it illegal to hand out leaflets or to dump rBGH milk in the
gutter," Cummings charged.

PFC claims that Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler
"lied to Congress" when he assured legislators that bovine somatrotropin
(BST), the genetically engineered growth hormone, was destroyed by
pasteurization. Kessler's assurance, which spared Monsanto (BST's
manufacturer) the expense of any further research, was based on a
scientific paper written by Paul Groenewegen, a graduate student from
Guelph, Canada. According to PFC, Groenewegen was "outraged" to learn
that the FDA had misrepresented his research. Far from destroying BST,
Groenewegen's research showed that subjecting BST to pasteurization
temperatures 120 times normal only destroyed 19 percent of the BST in
milk. PFC also charges that the FDA will not release research that
"proves that lab animals got cancer from BST," despite numerous Freedom
of Information Act requests.

Monsanto's claim that BST is "identical" to natural hormones is also
fraudulent, PFC contends, since BST replaces the naturally occurring
amino acid lysine with epsilon-N-acetyl-lysine. While this may not sound
significant, it is known that the alteration of a single amino acid can
trigger sickle cell anemia or predispose some people to Alzheimer's
disease.

While rBGH is banned in Europe and Canada, and has been boycotted by 95
percent of US dairy farmers, the FDA, Environmental Protection Agency
and Department of Agriculture continue to license the drug (and other
new genetically engineered foods) without pre-market safety tests.
Thanks to industry pressure, genetically engineered foods are not
required to carry identifying labels.

"Instead of giving us affordable, healthy, natural, clean food --
safety-tested and clearly labeled to enable consumers to exercise free
choice -- the powers-that-be seem intent upon taking away our right to
know what's been done to our food," Cummings stated. "Government and
corporation hacks use 'risk assessment' and 'cost accounting' to tell us
it's 'too expensive' to clean up food-industry practices, even as the
Centers for Disease Control admit that 20-80 million people a year get
food poisoning."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

What You Can Do:

PFC invites activists to stage milk-dumps around the country to call
attention to "food slander" laws. For more information, contact: PFC,
860 Highway 61E, Little Marais, MN 55614; [phone]; (800)
451-7670.


Date: Sat, 5 Apr 1997 00:57:46 +0800 (SST)
>From: vadivu <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (MY)  Permits needed to keep exotic pets
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>The Star (4-Apr-97)
Permits needed to keep exotic pets

JOHOR BARU: The National Park and Wildlife Department has made it compulsory
for those wanting to keep exotic animals as pets to get a special permit.

  The department's public relations officer Mohd Fuad Mohd Sharif said that
the move was necessary to prevent cruelty against such animals.

  Those keeping exotic pets without permits would be charged under the
Protection of Wildlife Act 1972 which carries a fine of up to RM5,000 or
three years' jail or both upon conviction.

  "We are aware that some people keep  exotic birds, mammals, reptiles and
amphibians as status symbols. Such cases are not new as we have prosecuted
many offenders since the Act came into force in 1972," he said.

  Mohd Fuad said it was not easy to rear exotic animals as some owners would
not know how to care for them.







Date: Sat, 05 Apr 1997 12:07:00 -0500
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Food Slander Laws in the USA
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

For additional information on the web concerning such matters, see:

Rutgers  Animal Rights Law Center

Product Disparagement Statutes

http://www.animal-law.org/pdstat/index.html

Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 09:12:30 -0800 (PST)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] British hunters at bay
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Form The Province (Vancouver, BC), Thursday, April 3rd, 1997

CANDIAN PRESS

LONDON - Faced with a real threat that the next government in Britain might
ban hunting to hounds, people who work in "country sports" announced the
formation of a union yesterday to fight for their way of life.

The aimof the union is not to bargain for wages but to inform the public -
who routinely and overwhelmingly tell pollsters they oppose the hunt - what
would happen to the rural economy if they got their wish.
Organizers of the union warned that tens of thousands of people living in
rural Britain directly or indirectly depend on country sports such as fox-
and stag-hunting, hare-coursing, shooting and angling for their livelihoods.

Union chairman John Fretwell said country sports generate the equivalent of
about $14 billion Cdn a year in economic activity "and that's a lot of money
in anybody's language."

However, much of the anti-hunting sentiment resides in the Labour [P]arty,
which appears poised to win the May 1 election and has promised to hold a
free vote on hunting with hounds.


Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 09:12:32 -0800 (PST)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [CA] Dumpster-dog case brings change
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From The Province

By Ian Austin
Staff Reporter

Jasper the dumpster dog has struck a blow for deprived dogs everywhere.

The plucky Skye terrier's plight has led to a change in what happens to dogs
whose owners are charged with neglect or abuse.

In the past, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has had to
apply to the B.C. Supreme Court to get custody of an animal.

But B.C. Supreme Court Master Shelley Nitikman ruled yesterday that animals
whose owners face charges will now stay with the SPCA pending the outcome of
the court case.

"The unfortunate circumstances of Japser may help other animals," Donna
Miranda, a volunteer for [various] animal welfare [groups].
David Wotherspoon, the SPCA's lawyer, said Jasper could barely walk, had
heart disease, a sore on his right hind leg, a hernia and matted fur reeking
of urine and feces after being rescued from a dumpster Jan. 20.

"This application is about a dog named Jasper, a 15-year-old Skye terrier, "
said Wotherspoon. "In the context of all the evidence, I say that he was
abused and neglected."

Bruce Ralston, lawyer for Jasper's owners, Janice and John Montroy,
presented 50 letters of support from family, friends and teachers. "It would
seem rather unlikely, if not preposterous,  for someone to put the dog in a
dumpster and come back and claim it four days later," Ralston said.

[As I posted earlier, the SPCA contest that Jasper was abused/neglected over
a long period of time, and the condition he was found was not caused by a
night in the dumpster. I altered the description of about Donna Miranda from
the original, which did not accurately describe her involvement with the
groups.]

Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 12:24:24 -0500 (EST)
>From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

ar-news mail postpone
Date: Fri, 4 Apr 97 09:31:20 -0000
>From: <[e-mail]>
To: "ar-news" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (US) USDA enforcement actions
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

The USDA continues its barrage of press releases featuring the fines they
are assessing for violations of the animal welfare act.  But these fines
are almost always suspended instantly, yet the USDA uses the total number
of fines assesed in its PR information.  Note the following 2 examples
recieved today, the first of which involves a suspended fine so long as
no other violations occur-- BUT THE LICENSE WAS SUSPENDED SO THERE CAN BE
NO FURTHER VIOLATIONS--

LOGAN, IOWA, ANIMAL DEALER SURRENDERS
LICENSE TO USDA

     RIVERDALE, Md., April 3, 1997--The U.S.
Department of Agriculture and Ernest Yancy,
a licensed animal dealer doing business as S
& Y Kennel in Logan, Iowa, have agreed to a
consent decision and order regarding
violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

     Yancy neither admitted nor denied any
violations of the AWA but agreed to a civil
penalty of $5,000 and will surrender his
license.  The $5,000 penalty is suspended
provided there are no further violations of
the AWA for a period of one year.  Yancy
will not be allowed to receive a license under the AWA for a period of
four years.
-----

FREDERICK, S.D., ANIMAL DEALER SETTLES WITH
USDA FOR $4,000

     RIVERDALE, Md., April 3, 1997--The U.S.
Department of Agriculture and Donna Voeller,
a licensed animal dealer doing business in
Frederick, S.D., have agreed to a consent
decision and order regarding violations of
the Animal Welfare Act.

     Voeller neither admitted nor denied any
violations of the AWA but agreed to a civil
penalty of $4,000 and a 45-day license
suspension continuing until she demonstrates
that her facility is in full compliance with
the AWA.  The fine is suspended providing
Voleller does not violate the AWA for a
period of one year.